Flash X The NeverEnding Story
by Reign Atkins
Summary: This is something absolutely different. One of my favorite movies is the Neverending Story, which I just rewatched recently and had some major inspo for the Characters of the Flash. (Yes, I'm a nerd)
1. Chapter 1

It was just after midnight when Astrid, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco were gathered in Astrid's living room. They were all getting tired but Cisco insisted on one last movie.

"Alright, Cisco." Barry said with a yawn. Caitlin was currently laying on his lap on one of the lounges. "we'll watch one more movie."

Cisco grinned, and went to put the next movie on. "Uh uh… Cisco." Astrid said, "I am going to pick the next movie… I'm picking something that I love and I know all the words to, so if I fall asleep I won't miss out on anything special."

"Okay, Jedi! What did you have in mind?" Cisco asked her.

She sang the theme song out loud, "The Never Ending Story!"

"Okay… that's fair!" Cisco said, "But don't worry… if you cry over the swamps of sadness part, at least you'll have me to comfort you." He put the movie on and sat back in his spot, with Astrid cuddling into him.

"You'll be crying before I am, buddy!" she replied.

As the movie began they all drifted off to sleep. Caitlin curled up in Barry's arms and Astrid cuddled up in Cisco's lap. Her arm flopped to the side of her lounge where her bracelet that kept control over her powers, fell to the floor.

Barry awoke at Joe's house and ate his breakfast. Across the table sat Iris, while Joe busied about in the kitchen. He brought the two of them some coffee and directed his conversation to Barry.

"Don't worry, Barry. We'll get to the bottom of your mother's case. But, while I understand that you like to believe in the impossible… You need to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground… and your head out of the clouds. There has to be a logical reason behind it all. It was hard to pull these strings to get you a job at CCPD, so you rushing around telling everybody that some lighting man killed your mother… Well, that's not a good idea."

Barry looked at him puzzled. What the hell? What was going on here? He could have sworn that they had found his mother's killer. That it had been Eobard Thawne and that he had been killed. He was also confused by the fact that he was back at Joe's place. Nonetheless, he listened to Joe.

"Alright, Joe. I get it, I'll keep my feet firmly planted on the ground." He replied, he smirked. There was nothing stopping him from running though.

"Good, now you should get to work… You don't want to be late on your first day!" Joe replied.

First day? Barry thought to himself. That couldn't be right! Had he gone back through time? What the hell was happening? "Joe… what do you mean my first day? I've been working at CCPD for years!" Barry said.

Joe looked at Barry sternly. "that's what I'm talking about, son!"

This time Iris cut in. "Barry. You really need to stop doing that, that's what dad was referring to. I should go, too… I'm doing the open at Jitters this morning."

"Jitters, Iris? I thought you worked at Picture News, now." Barry said confused.

"Haha, very funny." Iris replied, she got to her feet and left saying "Bye dad. Bye Barry!"

"Alright, I'm going as well." Barry replied, as he got to his feet too and passed Iris. "Bye Joe, bye Iris!" he said.

As he was walking through the streets of Central City, he found himself face to face with Leonard Snart, his sister Lisa and Mick Rory.

"Hey guys." Barry said, "Have the two of you noticed something strange has been going on, around here?"

The group looked at each other, as if Barry were insane to be even talking to them.

"Let's get him!" Leonard said, and without warning, the three of them charged for Barry. It reminded him of the time that he used to run away from the bullies at school. Barry ran as fast as he could, but, for some reason, he didn't have his speed, which made him very slow.

Nonetheless, Barry ran and ran, until he came across a large dumpster. He climbed inside to hide away. The trio laughed uncontrollably at his current circumstance and eventually left.

When Barry climbed out and dusted himself off, he made his way through town. There was one thing throughout the city that was missing. STAR Labs was absolutely wiped from existence. Instead, there was a small appliance store standing in its place.

Barry walked through the store looking around. The store was currently empty, except for an older gentleman with thick glasses, who sat at the counter, staring at a tablet screen. He eyed Barry suspiciously and placed the tablet on the counter to direct his attention on to Barry.

"Yes… what do you want?" the man asked him.

"I'm looking for STAR Labs. It used to be here." Barry replied.

The man studied Barry. It was as if he knew more than he was letting on.

"There's never been a STAR Labs in Central City for as long as I've lived here... seventy years..." he said.

Barry thought for a moment, "What about a Sutherland Labs, then?" Barry asked him.

The man shook his head at Barry. "There's a Mercury Labs, a Kord Industries and a Stagg industries, but no STAR or Sutherland Labs." He informed him.

Barry glanced at the screen, that the man had been reading. There was a title on the tablet screen that caught his attention. 'The Never ending Story'. These words stood out for Barry. That was the last movie that the group had seen together. Maybe the clues lied within that tablet.

Barry pulled out his wallet, searching for money. "I'd like to buy that tablet right there." Barry said, pointing towards the device on the counter.

"This tablet?" the man asked him. "This one is not for sale." The man said.

"Well, what is that that you're reading? I've heard of it before." Barry replied.

"You would have never heard of this story before… Within these words lie adventures far beyond the mind can comprehend." The man told him.

Barry smirked. For anyone who knew him, knew that he believed in the impossible. For the things that he had seen in his past went against all science and rational thinking.

"You'd be surprised at what I could comprehend," Barry said.

The man stared at Barry, his expression unreadable. "This is more than any comic book…" he began, as if he were on auto pilot. Barry immediately remembered the movie that they had been watching again. It was as if he were in the movie itself. "I believe you." Barry said, cutting him off.

He knew that at any moment the phone would ring. And then it did. The man excused himself and left to answer the phone, leaving the tablet on the counter, as Barry had in fact, predicted it.

Barry left a note on the notebook by the counter, saying that he would return the device, and then he took the tablet and left the store. The elderly man on the phone had seen his every move and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

With the tablet firmly tucked under Barry's arm, he made his way to CCPD. He was certainly late, but no one had yet seen him arrive. He overheard Captain Singh's booming voice from within his office. The entire city had been altered. There were no meta humans whatsoever in this warped version of the world, and so far, no sign of any of his friends either.

Barry knew that he was required to report to Singh immediately. But clearly, the fate of the world was lying within his hands. Quite literally in the tablet that he was carrying. So, instead he made his way to the old storage room upstairs. It was dark and was barely ever used.

He switched on the dim light, removed his backpack and took his place on the floor. He unlocked the screen and began to read the article, that the man from the store had been reading. 'The NeverEnding Story'.

"It was midnight in the howling forest… the wind whistled through the tops of the ancient trees. Suddenly, something enormous crashed and rumbled through the eerie woods." Barry said aloud, "So far that's all pretty standard… Maybe I should skip ahead…" he decided.

As Barry read, he was brought to a scene that he could envision as clear as day, as it was a place that he knew all too well. STAR Labs. But it was set in what looked like the decaying world of Fantasia. The same place that he could remember from the movie.

In the great hallway, fantastical beings, meta-humans, heroes and regular beings were all impatiently congregated, waiting for the empress to make her appearance and to assure them that they would all be saved.

However, the empress did not meet with her people. Instead, a man made his way to the stage prepared to speak in her stead. This was the same man from the movie. Throughout his words, Barry tried to determine what the clues might be. Though nothing stood out for him.

"There is a nothing coming and it is destroying our world." The man said, "And just as our world is crumbling, the empress has become deathly ill. She is dying."

There was a great dismay that swept over the crowds. But then the man continued, "But we have one last hope. A great warrior. Who has been handpicked to save us all. Can he please come out?"

There was a disruption amongst the people. Barry remembered this part. But then Atreyu, dressed in the same brown clothes, emerged from the crowds. His hair hanging past his face, though he seemed very much older, and very unaware of himself.

There was a stunned reaction throughout the crowd and even Barry was shocked by who it really was. The man who Barry had believed was Atreyu, was really: "Cisco!" Barry said out loud. But as Barry said the name. The writing in the story was altered. Barry continued to read.

Cisco looked around, as if he had heard Barry speak out his name. But then he shook it off and focused his attention on proving to the man that he was the right guy for the job.

"You are not a warrior!" the empress's assistant told Cisco. "You are not what we had expected."

"Do you think that I would have expected to wake up, this morning, in a crumbling world to be summoned for some quest? Yeah, me neither. But I can assure you that where I come from, many people see me as a hero. I have fought speedsters and evil villains single-handedly, I even worked with Batman... that's a pretty cool achievement! So, I am the man that you seek!" Cisco said trying to muster his own courage. He too was clueless as to how he had reached that world. Though he could remember the movie like the back of his hand.

The man stared at him, still in disbelief that he could be the hero that Fantasia was looking for.

"Okay. Fine, man!" Cisco said, "If you don't want me for the job… then I guess that I'll get back to doing what I was doing… which was, finding my way out of this place!" he turned to leave.

"No, Wait! Come Back!" the man called out.

A big grin spread across Cisco's face. He turned back to the old man who was still standing before him.

"You must find a cure for the empress and save the world. Your quest will not be easy, you must leave all your weapons behind and you must go alone. There will be many dangers in your path." The man said.

Cisco began to doubt himself, "What are my chances in succeeding? I mean it seems pretty impossible…" he asked.

"I don't know. But if you fail, the empress will surely die and our whole world will be utterly destroyed."

"Ouch…" Cisco groaned, "So, like no pressure or anything. Do I get anything at all to take with me? I mean Atreyu had a horse and an amulet! And also when do I begin?"

The man stared at Cisco as if he were crazy, but then he handed him a bracelet that he could vaguely remember. For he had built it with his own hands. It was Astrid's old power dampening bracelet. "Now. You must hurry, Cisco. The nothing grows stronger every day. Take this oren. It speaks for the empress. It will protect you."

Cisco left the great hall with the bracelet in hand and found a strong white horse waiting for him. He felt the excitement wash over him. "This is so cool!" he exclaimed. "I get my own Artax!" He was grinning from ear to ear.


	3. Chapter 3

Cisco Ramon travelled for weeks searching for a cure for the empress, but then the creature of darkness also began his own quest.  
"Okay, Artax… It's time to eat!" Cisco said as he unwrapped his food.

"How the hell did Cisco get Big Belly Burger in Fantasia?" Barry asked himself, entirely puzzled by the notion. Barry had also gone down the street and had also picked up his own lunch, after reading the last chapter.

Just as Barry had spoken those words, Cisco looked around. "Artax, Did you hear that? I could have sworn that I heard an old friend of mine!"

Barry was stumped, the thought of his friend being able to hear him as he read the story seemed impossible… but he had seen the impossible occur every day.

"Cisco… Can you hear me?" Barry asked.

Cisco got to his feet and looked around, even Artax seemed quite confused. "Yeah, I hear you! Barry is that you? Where are you? I can't see you!" Cisco called out to the quiet Fantasia lands that surrounded him.

"Wow, Cisco. I'm in a different world, a different version of Central city! I'm reading the story… I think we're in that movie… The…" Barry began.

"Yeah, the Never Ending Story. I figured that out already… when I was back at the tower. So, how do you suppose we get out of here?" Cisco called out loud.

"How does the movie end… they need me to give the empress a name, right? Wasn't the name Moon child or something?" Barry asked him.

"That was the name of his mother… So maybe you need to call out your mother's name! Is there a window around you? Call it out!" Cisco instructed.

Barry ran to the window and called out his mother's name to the streets of Central City. The most he got was someone calling out for him to 'shut up'.

Barry went back to the tablet a little embarrassed, "Hey Cisco. Did it work?" Barry asked him, he waited for the words to appear on the screen.

"No, Barry. Fantasia is still crumbling." Cisco replied. "That would have been funny to see, though. Okay… I suppose I should get on with my quest then…"

"Alright. Just one question, Cisco. How did you get Big Belly Burger in Fantasia?" Barry asked him.

Cisco shrugged, then climbed back on to Artax's back and continued on his quest, as Barry continued reading the words from the tablet.

Cisco travelled miles with no success or even a single sign for a cure that would save the empress. But soon, he felt a sadness and a sense of hopelessness wash over him. They had come to the swamps of sadness. Anyone who lets the sadness overtake them were destined to sink to the bottom of the swamps.

"No, this is the Swamps of Sadness!" Cisco exclaimed. "Artax, we need to turn back!" he said to his horse, but the horse had already stepped into the murky muddy swamp.

"Just no, Barry! Nope, I'm out! I can't do this scene! Uh uh! Change the words or something Barry!" Cisco pleaded, as tears begun to form in his eyes. "Come on Artax! Let's get out of here… Don't listen to Barry... You're going to be fine..."

"Sorry Cisco… That's what the words say..." Barry called back to him, "But I'll try and change the words… Cisco and Artax found the cure for the empress, the horse was fine… Is it working Cisco?"

But it wasn't working, Artax was sinking fast, with Cisco holding on to the reigns tightly.

"Artax, we need to think of happy thoughts… like in Peter Pan… Wait, you wouldn't know that movie, would you?" Cisco said as he tried to pull Artax out of the murky swamps. "Barry! It isn't working!" Cisco was now sinking too.

"Cisco you need to get out of the water!" Barry called out, "You're sinking too!"

"No, Artax! turn around… come on. You're letting the sadness get to you! Stupid horse move! Come on! Move!" The tears continued to fall from Cisco's face, the deeper that Artax sunk into the swamps. But as Cisco realized that the sadness was beating himself and that he too was sinking, he tried to think of happy thoughts.

He thought of Big Belly Burger, of movies, Twizzlers and of his friends. Every thought made him lighter and lighter, as if they lifted him on to the banks and out of the swamps. But as he sat on the land, he watched as Artax disappeared into the swamps of sadness, sobbing over the loss of the beautiful white stallion.

As Cisco cried, Barry too had become enraptured into the story. He wiped away the tears that ran down his face.

"Alright, Barry. When we get out of this… let's pretend it never happened! You and I never cried... We toughed it out!" Cisco called out to Barry. "Can you just skip to the next part, please?"

"Yeah… That's what I was thinking too, Cisco. I'll read us to the next chapter!" Barry replied.


End file.
